I think they're finally feeling threatened. It was mentioned that Lahabrea's repeat body hopping had led him to insanity, and I have to wonder if perhaps Elidibus might be feeling the onset of that, too. Not to mention that there's now a Warrior of Light/Darkness who has proven capable of killing multiple Ascians (2 in the MSQ plus the Ascians of the Chalice in SMN 60). They accidentally started a war that threatened them, so now they're trying to move the timetable up so they don't lose everything.